Woodbury Community Education

Photo: Emily J. Davis

Instructor Michelle Pronsati leads the popular Zumba class, one of numerous adult community education choices offered by South Washington County School Disctrict 833.

With the unique and interesting variety of adult enrichment classes offered by South Washington County School District 833, it’s easier than ever before to follow your passion or perhaps discover a new one. From creative pursuits like landscape painting to practical tips from a popular class called “Get Completely Out of Debt!” and everything in between, adult enrichment truly provides something for everyone.

“One of the things we try to do is offer classes in topics that people can walk away from with more knowledge and greater interest,” says Gretchen Carlson, adult enrichment coordinator for South Washington County Schools.

Carlson actually put that notion into practice herself when she enrolled in a polymer clay class last year and now has started a small business creating beautiful polymer clay jewelry called Sweet Hope Jewelry. “I found that once I had developed the foundation, I was really hungry to learn more,” she says. “I love working with polymer clay. You really never know where a class might take you.”

According to Carlson, the program’s health and wellness topics are always extremely popular classes with both first-time students and repeat participants. “We have the tried and true ones like yoga and Pilates that always appeal to people, but we’re also committed to adding new classes all the time,” she says.

Zumba is one of those more recent options, combining Latin dance rhythms with fast and slow interval and resistance training. Michelle Pronsati has been teaching Zumba in community education programs and elsewhere since 2007; she first learned Zumba herself in 2005, fell in love with it and decided to train to become an instructor.

“Zumba is mainly dancing with a fitness component,” Pronsati says. “Even if you have never done something like this before, the repetition involved through practicing the moves week after week results in people picking it up fairly easily.”

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